The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

In The Righteous Mind, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores the origins of our divisions and points the way forward to mutual understanding. His starting point is moral intuition - the nearly instantaneous perceptions we all have about other people and the things they do. These intuitions feel like self-evident truths, making us righteously certain that those who see things differently are wrong. Haidt shows us how these intuitions differ across cultures, including the cultures of the political left and right.

Stumbling on Happiness

A smart and funny book by a prominent Harvard psychologist, which uses groundbreaking research and (often hilarious) anecdotes to show us why we're so lousy at predicting what will make us happy, and what we can do about it.

Here is the story of Jerry Weintraub: the self-made, Brooklyn-born, Bronx-raised impresario, Hollywood producer, legendary deal maker, and friend of politicians and stars. No matter where nature has placed him - the club rooms of Brooklyn, the Mafia dives of New York's Lower East Side, the wilds of Alaska, or the hills of Hollywood - he has found a way to put on a show and sell tickets at the door.

I Know What to Do, So Why Don't I Do It?: The New Science of Self-Discipline

You might think laziness, lack of willpower, and/or low motivation are to blame for the fact that you aren't achieving your goals. But fascinating research in the field of psychoneuroimmunology has revealed another, far more likely possibility. One with the potential to transform your life in a dramatic way.

Civilization and Its Discontents

First published in 1930, Civilization and Its Discontents is one of the most influential works of pioneering psychologist Sigmund Freud. Focusing on the tension between the primitive drives of the individual and the demands of civilization for order and conformity, Freud draws upon his psychoanalytic theories to explain the fundamental structures, conflicts, and consequences of society.

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

In a compelling, story-driven narrative, the Heaths bring together decades of counterintuitive research in psychology, sociology, and other fields to shed new light on how we can effect transformative change. Switch shows that successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you, whether your interest is in changing the world or changing your waistline.

How the Mind Works

In this delightful, acclaimed bestseller, one of the world’s leading cognitive scientists tackles the workings of the human mind. What makes us rational—and why are we so often irrational? How do we see in three dimensions? What makes us happy, afraid, angry, disgusted, or sexually aroused? Why do we fall in love? And how do we grapple with the imponderables of morality, religion, and consciousness?

The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease

In this landmark book of popular science, Daniel E. Lieberman - chair of the department of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a leader in the field - gives us a lucid and engaging account of how the human body evolved over millions of years, even as it shows how the increasing disparity between the jumble of adaptations in our Stone Age bodies and advancements in the modern world is occasioning this paradox: greater longevity but increased chronic disease.

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us

Every year, the average American eats 33 pounds of cheese (triple what we ate in 1970) and 70 pounds of sugar (about 22 teaspoons a day). We ingest 8,500 milligrams of salt a day, double the recommended amount, and almost none of that comes from the shakers on our table. It comes from processed food. It’s no wonder, then, that one in three adults, and one in five kids, is clinically obese.

The Mind of God: Neuroscience, Faith, and a Search for the Soul

Is there a God? It's a question billions of people have asked since the dawn of time. You would think by now we'd have a satisfactory, universal answer. No such luck...or maybe we do and we just need to look in the right place. For Dr. Jay Lombard that place is the brain, and more importantly the mind, that center of awareness and consciousness that creates reality. In The Mind of God, Dr. Lombard employs case studies from his own behavioral neurology practice to explore the spiritual conundrums that we all ask ourselves.

william says:"I understand Dr.Lombard's mind after the book but I do not feel closer to god or the mind of god"

The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time

Best-selling historian and philosopher Will Durant devoted his entire life to studying the most significant eras, individuals, and achievements of human history. Here is a summation of Durant's work, as he presents the best of world history. Filled with Durant's renowned wit, knowledge, and unique ability to explain events in simple and exciting terms, it is a concise liberal arts education.

Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment

From one of America's greatest minds, a journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and enduring happiness. In Why Buddhism Is True, Wright leads listeners on a journey through psychology, philosophy, and a great many silent retreats to show how and why meditation can serve as the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age.

In today's ever-changing and often-volatile business landscape, adaptability and creativity are more crucial than ever. It is no longer possible - or even desirable - to learn one set of job skills and work your way up the ladder. Rather, today's entrepreneurs and business leaders must anticipate change to create opportunities for professional success and personal satisfaction.

Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace Positive Emotions

World renowned researcher Dr. Barbara Fredrickson gives you the lab-tested tools necessary to create a healthier, more vibrant, and flourishing life through a process she calls "the upward spiral." With Positivity, you'll learn to see new possibilities, bounce back from setbacks, connect with others, and become the best version of yourself.

The Selfish Gene

Richard Dawkins' brilliant reformulation of the theory of natural selection has the rare distinction of having provoked as much excitement and interest outside the scientific community as within it. His theories have helped change the whole nature of the study of social biology, and have forced thousands to rethink their beliefs about life.

The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature

In The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker, one of the world's leading experts on language and the mind, explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, Pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traits, denies our common humanity and our individual preferences, replaces objective analyses of social problems with feel-good slogans, and distorts our understanding of politics, violence, parenting, and the arts.

Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life

Based on a far-reaching study of thousands of individuals, Finding Flow contends that we often walk through our days unaware of and out of touch with our emotional lives. Our inattention makes us constantly bounce between two extremes: During much of the day, we live filled with the anxiety and pressures of our work and obligations, and during our leisure moments, we tend to live in passive boredom.

Publisher's Summary

This is a book about 10 "Great Ideas". Each chapter is an attempt to savor one idea that has been discovered by several of the world's civilizations - to question it in light of what we now know from scientific research, and to extract from it the lessons that still apply to our modern lives.

What the Critics Say

"I don't think I've ever read a book that laid out the comtemporary understanding of the human condition with such simple clarity and sense." (The Guardian, UK) "A delightful book...by some margin the most intellectually substantial book to arise from the 'positive psychology' movement." (Nature) "Fascinating stuff, accessibly expressed." (Booklist)

The publisher's title for and capsule summary of "The Happiness Hypothesis" doesn't do full justice to the exceptional range of learning, research, and wisdom that combine in this book. It's not pop psychology or a generic self-help book: Haidt is a professor in the Psychology Department at the U. of Virginia, and a leading researcher in the "moral emotions". His working hypothesis is that human moral systems have underpinnings in evolutionary biology, but he's as far from being a reductionist as possible. Instead he believes it's impossible to understand morality, and by extension happiness, without examining their history in human cultures and religions.

Haidt covers a tremendous range of interwoven topics: the history of Western moral philosophy; ideas of virtue and the sacred in Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism; child development and parent-child bonding in relation to the moral emotions; modern neuroscience and the biological foundations of behavior; and the role of trauma and adversity in personal growth. He is especially gifted at explaining things in everyday language, avoiding jargon and carefully defining and illustrating new terminology.

George Wilson's narration is clear and paced appropriately, and he's solid on technical terms, foreign names, and so on. He gets a chance now and then to show his skill in creating voices for extended quotations from Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and William James.

It's not really a self help book at all, it's more like a guide to the human brain, if you ever wonder why you think you are so much different then everybody else, this book will explain why you are not and why you are almost exactly like the rest of us, it also tells us what brain functions make us believe in religion, and so much more, I rate this book a must read, even if you have no knowledge about brain anatomy and functions.
The book offers some insight into early philosophy and it draws parallels to modern brain research, but that part is just publicity.
Other must read books Phantoms in the brain Ramachandran, origin of species Darwin

Tying in the wisdom of ancient philosophers and religions' teachings, Haidt masterfully creates an argument that we are more in control of our happiness than we could ever imagine. He connects how our brains work with why we think like we do. He explains 'elevation': an emotion I have often where I feel a rush of adrenaline and tear up when seeing/hearing masterfully done art or wondrous natural scenes like the Grand Canyon, but never understood until now.

In addition to teaching the science, Haidt also outlines possible approaches you might take to be more happy such as how to structure your day and to be more aware of your successes and to celebrate them. He looks at wealth, disability, sex, children, love and more to show how they influence (or not) one's happiness.

The author has great insights on how the mind works and how did we get this far.. And the evolutionary traits that are still with us from the past, and how that influences our behavior today. Even though it helps understanding ourselves a lot, I would not call it self help, but something beyond that. Really happy about listening rather than reading too, since the narrator is great and gets you completely immersed in the narrative. In summary, way better than I expected - so much that I took the time to write this review. :)

One of the best books I have read this year, a must read. A lot of current psychological research on the human condition presented along with a good dose of ancient wisdom and philosophy. It's not just a self help book on happiness - but gives a comprehensive picture of what it's all about.

I usually choose to listen to novels but I am so glad that I loaded this one up! I bought the book first but was having trouble finding time to read it (and, quite frankly, novels kept getting in the way) so I decided to try out the audio version. George Wilson brought this text to life and helped me see the genius of Jonathan Haidt. Understanding human relationships is a passion for me and this book has brought new insights to my search for wisdom. Highly recommended!!!

This book offers a great look into what makes people happy, while at the same time illuminating some elements that may be keeping you from reaching your happiness potential. This insight, coupled with practical solutions offered in the book, provide real means for increasing one's day-to-day level of happiness. A fantastic listen for anyone interested in the way we think and perceive the world around us!

This book was enlightening, informing and entertaining. It is by far the best nonfiction listening I have ever experienced. Moreover I found the information in it delightful conversation starters. His analysis of philosophical, religeous, and social history as it relates to modern research on the function of the brain was astounding. Whether you agree with him or not, this is one you have to listen to.

The clarity of reasoning, practical exercises, and clear scientific grounding make this book a real gem. I also loved the historical information on the various ideas.

What other book might you compare The Happiness Hypothesis to and why?

A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy, by William B. Irvine because both advocate similar approaches and reach similar conclusions about things.

What does George K. Wilson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

George's rich voice is perfect - he could make the most boring book in the universe entertaining!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

How to Explain Away Anything

Any additional comments?

The one issue I have with this book is that I felt the author's understanding of sociology and psychology far outstrips his understanding of the various ancient philosophical systems of the world. Many of his assumptions about the view propagated by a given philosophical school are based upon one or more statements made by a single representative of that school and are not really representative of the school as a whole.
For example, his portrayal of Stoics as promoting a passionless existence is not really accurate (see Seneca). They merely promoted an attitude of not being addicted to the object of the passions but agreed that one could enjoy the normal passions of life and still be a 'good Stoic' living a philosophical life. His assertion that some things from outside ourselves can make us happy is also based on only a surface understanding of happiness in Stoic philosophy. Things outside us can make us happy (connections to others for example) because of the value judgements we make about those things. Hence, the happiness is still coming from within as its source is actually our own value judgement, not the external thing itself. A relationship has no power to make a person happy on its own. In fact many people who are in relationships are balls of misery. It is the judgement that "this relationship is good and therefore I am happy" that makes us happy - which is precisely what the Stoics taught.
I think these misunderstandings are simply due to the fact that the author's background is not in philosophy, so he would have no reason to be that familiar with every detail of the ideas of these various schools. To be fair, he also made some very accurate observations, too. His description of arete and eudaimonia was completely accurate, showing that his understanding of these concepts is very clear.
Ultimately, the author doesn't really advocate anything. He somehow manages to say all manner of intelligent things without firmly standing for anything in particular - something that is disturbingly prevalent in books written by intellectual types - other than perhaps a sort of psychological "middle way" between complete hedonism and complete asceticism - a stance that is conveniently easy to agree with. He says that yes, it is important to try not to be attached to anything but you also need passion. Yes, you need hardship but not too much. Yes, happiness comes from within but some things outside ourselves can also give us lasting happiness. So, essentially, he talks a lot without really saying anything at all.
However, overall, I think he main thrust of his book is useful in a pragmatic way. I'm an advocate of using any means available to live a full and happy life and ancient philosophy and modern psychology are perfectly complimentary to one another.

This is my favorite genre and I've come to expect either somewhat labored attempts at humor, painfully long examples, or a dead dull list of facts. This book is different. Every sentence and chapter is interesting and meaningful. There is a great mix of psychology and philosophy - of insight and thought provoking ideas. This is the best book I've listened to (or read) in a long time.

I loved this audiobook. Though it is long, it is never boring and I found myself hanging on for the next passage. This marries neuroscience, psychology and spiritual teachings from many sources. It is full of Eureka moments where I learned the how and why and the processes whereby we make decisions and judgments. I particularly liked the discussion of unconscious decision making. Very highly recommended

24 of 24 people found this review helpful

Adrian

JohannesburgSouth Africa

2/19/09

Overall

"Life-changing"

A wonderful insight into what it is to be human. The best guide on how to achieve happiness that I have ever read, and it really breaks new ground in that it is based on good science. This is not pop-psych motivational book, it provides the reader with an understanding of how the brain works, and how to apply this knowledge to the pursuit of happiness. Be warned - this book will challenge your current beliefs especially your confidence that you see the naked truth about anything...

13 of 13 people found this review helpful

Mr. R. D. Cox

London

5/31/11

Overall

"This book unravels a world of blah on the subject"

Understanding what makes people happy - and has led me on to a new programme of personal change

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Dan

LeedaUnited Kingdom

11/27/10

Overall

"An Excellent Book"

Well worth the money. An excellent insight into what it is to be happy and the human condition.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Si

UK

10/12/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Bad Title"

The title suggests this is will be a floaty coagulation of self-help cosmic consciousness hippy claptrap that uses the word 'quantum' all the time and tells you that anything is possible if only you ask the universe nicely. Rest assured, that is not this book. The writing is clear and informative and the commentary is incisive, well presented and succinctly phrased. Perhaps it falls a little short of being an 'important' book but it is certainly worth the read and even connoisseurs of the human condition will discover new avenues of thought that cast the subject of 'happiness' in a novel light. Recommended.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Crispin

Tufnell Park, United Kingdom

4/15/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Not too religious"

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

An interesting and fairly comprehensive look various theories and philosophies that have been adopted throughout history in the context of the latest thinking.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Happiness Hypothesis?

The chapter on work

Which scene did you most enjoy?

It doesn't really have scenes. It is more like a series of lectures on how to lead a good or fulfilling life.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Nope, it requires a bit of concentration, but that is because the concepts being discussed make you think. The writing and presentation is very clear.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Jim

London

11/16/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Astonshingly Good"

Brings together a mountain of work on positive psychology, happiness, behavioural economics and evolutionary psychology as well as Haidts work on morals and a range of religious traditions to offer a practical and readable account of what a good life might look like, why we find it so hard to make ourselves "better" and what we can do about it. If you're a fan of the likes of Shawn Achor, Daniel Kahneman, Martin Selligman and Brene Brown this is a must.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Santiago

Madrid, Spain

7/18/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Extremely enlightening"

The link between disgust, morality and religiousness, and the three axes of moral space that are defined in the final chapters were such epiphanies.The whole book is well researched, nuanced, original and well presented. A delight!